Never too soon for caroling – Stephanie Mueller
It’s the most wonderful time of the year— and what would this momentous period be without its own ever-gratifying background music?
They are the people you hate: The one who lives above your apartment and has “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” playing from noon to midnight, starting that fateful November day. They are the ones who forgot to shut down Pandora before bringing their laptop to class, only to blast “O Christmas Tree” for the whole room to hear. They have the earlier-than-early Christmas music disease.
They regret nothing.
Nov. 1 and Dec. 25 mark the beginning and the end, respectively, of the most blissful time of the year: The two-month epoch when it is (almost) acceptable to listen to Christmas music from morning ‘til night.This oft-hated group of people is an elite class of individuals who band together with the simple, unadulterated love for the catchy jingles and upbeat rhymes of the seasonally exclusive genre. They begin listening early and will likely hold on to that rope of musical hope for as long as possible, post-Dec. 25.
Christmas is the one time of the year when people come together for a common cause, second-guessing the negativities in the world for just a moment. They replace their fears, doubts and burdens with the hope that something better is on its way– just because it is Christmas time. Maybe it makes those early listeners juvenile or naïve, or maybe they are more than willing to embrace that idea of hope than those stalwarts who refuse to turn up “The 12 Days of Christmas” until Dec. 23.
Thus, Nov. 1 moseys in as a beacon of light for these well-wishers, a chance for the Christmas spirit to peek over the edges of the abyss that has become modern society, and shed some much-needed positivity on a world that has become increasingly focused on the negative. How can a person possibly be unhappy with lyrics about having a cup of cheer? Bottom line–they can’t.
It has been argued that this early Christmas trend has undermined the integrity of the Christian roots of the holiday. The birth of Jesus is a celebration, though, so elongating that celebration should be embraced instead of shunned. While songs like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” do not quite have a recognizable tie-in to the religious roots, “Oh, Holy Night”’ or “We Three Kings” more than compensate for that commercialization. The point, then, becomes moot.
To those who claim that the Christmas music invasion on radio stations is preventing the musical consumption of the regular radio tunes, 10 months out of the year is devoted to that. Sacrificing two months for the joy that is Christmas music is something that can be handled. So, in the Christmas spirit, suck it up.
If Christmas music truly were such a scar on society, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby probably would not have partaken in such childish escapades. But they did. And they would have wished for the world to hear their heart-warming tunes as often as possible. Wish granted.
In light of such greats, it seems inconceivable to even mention *NSync, but, when it comes to Christmas music, they hold their own. Eleven years after its release, “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” can still be heard on radios everywhere, blissful visions of dancing boy bands in awful sweaters conjured in memories.
Now that everyone is thinking about that, you can admit that you smiled a little bit, as was the goal.
That happiness is not only condoned but encouraged, because it is Christmastime, and if people can’t be happy for the other 10 months out of the year, November and December should be allowed their little pleasures.
Christmas music just makes everything okay.
Finals playlist is holiday-free – Wolf Howard
Call me Scrooge: I don’t like Christmas music. I borderline hate Christmas music, to be honest. This near-hatred is a new experience for me. It’s a direct effect of my time in college, where suddenly the entire world loved everything Christmas music, and I couldn’t go into a room without hearing about someone dreaming of a white Christmas.
I was subtly inundated with the average tunes when I was young, American childhood being what it is. By the age of 8, the majority of American children will know the Beatles, Barney and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. But I was never dragged into the Christmas music bonanza.
My family doesn’t play the “Top 20 Christmas Pop Hits” on Christmas day; we listen to Beethoven’s 9th. I discovered really good music in high school, and ever since then any song focused on snow and presents drove me nuts. We all know good music, yes? Songs with meaning? Depth? A message, a connection, a magic that just can’t be explained and can’t be denied — what a wonderful thing music is! And the “joyful jams” that are Christmas music accomplish none of this.
I don’t want a hippopotamus for Christmas, nor do I want to hear an obnoxious voice blather on about it to a cheery tuba melody. The vapidity inherent in nearly every holiday hit is mind-boggling. Not a single song has anything to say beyond “what I want for Christmas” and “I hope you have a merry Christmas too.” There’s no connection to be made, no thought to be had; just be happy, because it’s Baby Jesus day, and no one likes a Scrooge.
What’s substance when you can talk about the snow outside? I can’t wait until Santa comes either, if it means the end of this noise.
And boy is it catchy. You can dance to it while you string up popcorn and lights! And while you’re shopping! And walking to school! And sleeping! And you can keep on dancing to it as it stalks you throughout your life for a month and a half, finding its way into every inch of airspace. What sort of madness is it to have the same set of songs repeating by a hundred different artists for hours on end? How can anyone take all of that inflated cheer?
An entire “genre” of music that consists of less than 100 original songs is not real music. It’s a cash cow.
Nearly every song ever made for the month of December is a complete sell-out. Everyone loves it. They gobble up *NSync’s Christmas album and croon with Mariah Carey, as they repeat the same lines to an infectious melody. There’s no reason to it. Its blind “holiday spirit,” despite the fact that the songs were specifically made to sell like Apple products. Do you really want this music to be the thing that reminds you of family and closeness?
Some Christmas songs are meaningful and poignant and tell beautiful stories about love or heartbreak or anything that has something to do with the actual human experience. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” for instance, tells a pretty touching story. And I don’t hate the holiday. I love the things it represents: family, selflessness, memories. But the music that goes with it is the exact opposite of what the holiday is meant to be. It’s empty, self-interested, and all about the flash.
Nothing is important to an artist making a Christmas song except the number of units it can move. It’s a lot like a politician: charming and clean on the outside, but soulless inside, every syllable out if his mouth said with the intention of robbing you blind. Happy doesn’t have to be mindless, and Christmas doesn’t have to be a sales pitch.
If Justin Timberlake wishing you “Happy Holidays” is what brings you back to your childhood and your family and all the things you love, then I’m sorry they caught you so early.
I’ll take Beethoven’s 9th any day.
